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Lecture – 'The Health of Americans in a New Political Order' on April 18

Campus Notes

Lecture – 'The Health of Americans in a New Political Order' on April 18

UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

April 18, 2017

The great challenges facing health professionals—especially those in academic health centers—will be examined by Darrell G. Kirch, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), in a free presentation, open to the public, on April 18.

The lecture, "The Health of Americans in a New Political Order," is hosted by the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and will be held 5:30-6:30 p.m., in Banner – University Medical Center DuVal Auditorium.

Kirch will discuss the upheaval in the financing and delivery of health care, the new realities for today's students and the ways they approach education, the anti-science movement, burnout among health professionals, health disparities and social injustice and a deficit of health-care leaders prepared to manage change. As he discusses the forces shaping health in the United States, Kirch also will examine how health-care professionals can harness innovation, resilience and leadership to prevail – despite these challenges.

A distinguished physician, educator and medical scientist, Kirch speaks and publishes widely on the need for transformation in the nation's health-care system and how academic medicine can lead change across medical education, biomedical research and patient care. Prior to becoming AAMC president in 2006, Kirch served as the dean and academic health system leader of two institutions: the Medical College of Georgia and then Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. He has co-chaired the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body for U.S. medical schools, and chaired the Washington Higher Education Secretariat. Kirch also is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

A psychiatrist and clinical neuroscientist by training, Kirch began his career at the National Institute of Mental Health, becoming the acting scientific director in 1993 and receiving the Outstanding Service Medal of the U.S. Public Health Service. A native of Denver, he earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University of Colorado.

The endowment for the James E. Dalen, MD, MPH, Distinguished Lecture for Health Policy supports a series of visiting professors in health policy. These distinguished scholars present lectures and discussions to the UA campus community and the public about local, state, national and international health policy issues and connect the academic world with the "real world" of public health. James E. Dalen, has been a member of the UA faculty since 1988. He served as dean of the College of Medicine from 1988 to 2001, and as vice president for health sciences from 1995 to 2001.

Parking for the lecture is available in the Banner – University Medical Center Tucson visitor parking garage at the rate of $1.50 per hour, cash only.